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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Wildfire Preparedness, Community Cohesion And Social-Ecological Systems, Tim Prior, Christine Eriksen
Wildfire Preparedness, Community Cohesion And Social-Ecological Systems, Tim Prior, Christine Eriksen
Christine Eriksen
The consequences of wildfires are felt in susceptible communities around the globe on an annual basis. Climate change predictions in places like the south-east of Australia and western United States suggest that wildfires may become more frequent and more intense with global climate change. Compounding this issue is progressive urban development at the peri-urban fringe (wildland–urban interface), where continued infrastructure development and demographic changes are likely to expose more people and property to this potentially disastrous natural hazard. Preparing well in advance of the wildfire season is seen as a fundamental behaviour that can both reduce community wildfire vulnerability and …
Defining Adequate Means Of Residents To Prepare Property For Protection From Wildfire, Trent Penman, Christine Eriksen, R Blanchi, M Chladil, A Gill, K Haynes, Justin Leonard, Jim Mclennan, Ross Bradstock
Defining Adequate Means Of Residents To Prepare Property For Protection From Wildfire, Trent Penman, Christine Eriksen, R Blanchi, M Chladil, A Gill, K Haynes, Justin Leonard, Jim Mclennan, Ross Bradstock
Christine Eriksen
Wildfire can result in significant loss of property and lives. Evidence shows that residents can decrease the risk of loss when they stay to defend their property. In order to safely defend a property, residents need to be adequately prepared for the wildfire conditions they face. Residents who wish to evacuate prior to the arrival of a wildfire also need to prepare their property and themselves for such an action. Despite the importance of preparation, there are no clear and quantifiable definitions of what it means to be prepared for different exposures to wildfire. Here we develop a model and …
Defining The Importance Of Mental Preparedness For Risk Communication And Residents Well-Prepared For Wildfire, Christine Eriksen, Timothy Prior
Defining The Importance Of Mental Preparedness For Risk Communication And Residents Well-Prepared For Wildfire, Christine Eriksen, Timothy Prior
Christine Eriksen
Building on a recognised information-to-action gap in wildfire risk communication, this paper examines what being physically and mentally ‘well prepared’ actually means to wildfire agency staff and volunteers in charge of disseminating risk information. Using the results of an open-ended survey conducted in southeast Australia, we examine how a set of preparedness messages is interpreted. The paper demonstrates that the concept of wildfire preparedness is ambiguous, and that being ‘well prepared’ is a complex mix of practical and mental preparedness measures. Many of the individual interpretations of preparedness messages are found to not align with the official outlined intent. In …